


six hours a day

by nyu



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Strong Language, Underage Drinking, boy on boy, jeanmarco
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 21:33:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6488179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyu/pseuds/nyu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>''Jean was pretty sure that the person, who was standing a few meters ahead at their locker right now, was the very human he hated the most on the surface of this planet.''</p><p>JeanMarco in a college AU, in which Jean has a history of bullying Marco, and they really, really don't like eachother. Through more or less peer pressure, they end up working in the same place, and are practically forced to fix their relationship. New feelings are born later in the story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	six hours a day

**Author's Note:**

> i do believe i will work on ''a breather in darkness'' later, for now i am trying to get his more lighthearted story done, at least. i'll try.
> 
> i was feeling jeanmarco, so jeanmarco college AU it is.
> 
> try and enjoy!

Jean was pretty sure that the person, who was standing a few meters ahead at their locker right now, was the very human he hated the most on the surface of this planet.

Not that he wanted to start digging deep to find a reason for that. It had just been like that since always, and it didn't seem like Jean would change his opinion anywhere soon. God, even the thought of of it disgusted him more than it should have. He almost found it hilarious.

Jean had picked on him for as long as he could remember. It was some seriously fucked up luck for him to always end up in the same school or class as he did. It had started in elementary, gone all the way through high school, and even now, at college, he was still making Jean's nerves pop. Maybe it was because he had so much freckles. Maybe it was because he had never been too noisy and had always been more on the shy side. Or, maybe it was because he was always so kind. Jean didn't really know, but he didn't really _care_ to know, either. All he had figured out was that his name was Marco, and he was a shit-eating wimp.

When Jean was eight, he had pushed Marco in to a puddle of mud and called him names, remembering he had wanted to make him cry, knowing he was sensitive. He didn't cry, though. All he did was look devastated, and when he had asked Jean why'd he do that, Jean had just rolled his eyes and ran away.

Jean would always try and physically abuse him whenever they had P.E or during recess, by continually pushing and trying to trip him. He would spit insults at him, talk shit about him behind his back, laugh at him. Marco didn't like it, Jean could see it every time, but he would never go and tell a teacher about it. It just fueled him more. He had wanted to break him down.

No one else seemed to hate him like he did, though. None of Jean's friends would show any signs of hatred at Marco unless Jean was around. Jean's two good friends since kindergarten, Bertholdt and Reiner, were always nodding and staying beside Jean, they wouldn't say a word against the obvious bullying. But it was never them who hurt him, never.  
Then there was Eren. That guy used to be Jean's absolute best bro, until Marco came around. Because by the time Marco had been born, he was oh, so kind, and treated others with respect. That should have made him in to a big fucking target that just screamed 'bully me!', but for some reason, it didn't. People just happened to like him and think he was cool. And so did Eren, which absolutely pissed Jean off. It didn't take long for the two to break the friendship, because Marco had come in between, whether he had wanted it or not. Jean absolutely despised him for it.

By the time they got older, the bullying also kind of stopped. Jean didn't really know if he had managed to hurt Marco badly enough to traumatize him, because even though he would treat him like he was a pile of pig shit, Marco would still go around and smile. It wasn't until Jean came in to his field of vision that his expression would change suddenly. He'd grow pale and excuse himself, and go off somewhere else to stay out of Jean's way. He was probably scared of him. And Jean just couldn't stand Marco's face, because he always looked like he was somewhere mixed between fear and worry when he saw Jean. As if he had wanted to lick Jean's shoes like he did with everyone else, but couldn't, because Jean hated his guts. 

Now that they were in college, - in the same one, coincidence or not - Jean tried to stop giving a shit about him, and he was somewhat succeeding. It would be childish to carry on some grudge from times when they were kids, and since his friends really wouldn't support him on that anyway, Jean just stopped. But that didn't mean he had stopped hating him. No, he hated Marco more than ever. Fucking hated, hated, hated. He just didn't want to bother with him. If the two came in to contact, Jean would either not say a word to him, or he would say something insulting at him and watch his expression drop. Everyone knew Jean hated Marco. And that was that, for now.

Shiganshina College would still be ten to fifteen times more better place without Marco around. Even now, when all he was doing was rummaging through his locker and talking to some _girl_ who apparently was his buddy, Jean was glaring at him from under his eyebrows. He had completely stopped paying attention to his iPhone with a slightly cracked screen, because goddammit, he just had to be everywhere, didn't he? Marco laughed at something, he had not probably even noticed the sandy-haired dude just a small distance away from him. Probably because the hallway was so filled up with other people, now that most of the classes had ended. He closed his locker, turned the key, and began walking away. Jean's eyes followed him all the way behind the corner, where Marco disappeared, accidentally brushing against a potted plant on the go. Clumsy motherfucker, he had not changed at all.

Although he was gone, Jean already had a feeling his day was going to be shit. With a sigh through his nose, Jean's gaze returned on to his phone, which he had just unlocked again. It was 12:07. Plenty of time before his next boring-ass class would start. Whatever that would be, Jean decided to pay a visit to the dorms before attending it.

And so he got up and walked to the opposite side of the hall, where Marco had not turned in to. 

Jean, still feeling grumpy, tried not to plague his mind anymore with unnecessary thought of the guy who he had used to bully. He looked ahead instead, shoving hands inside his pockets. When windows came by, he noticed it was still pouring a bit. It had already been shitty enough to walk from the main building in to the cafeteria, but thankfully this time the distance would be shorter. Fuck everyone who has gym class today, he thought to himself, smirking. Jean was definitely glad to not belong in to that group of people.

After just a while of making his way through the crowd, Jean was already bumping in to people who were in his grade. Some were a bit older. A few faces were in the group right in front of the classroom, faces Jean could identify, probably because he had seen these people some time before; Hitch, Thomas. This was Reiner's physics class, and it didn't take long for the guy itself to emerge from the ocean of people. Jean saw his blonde, tall bro give him a brief nod, and Jean flashed him a face before he continued forward. Some girls were eyeing him from a few meters afar.

Jean was suddenly feeling good. Noticing things like this made him always notice his worth, which he was very well aware of. He wasn't just any guy in the crowd, and had never been one. Ever since he was a kid, he had friends. He had connections, man, he had some name. Looks were on his side as well, even though Eren had called him 'horse-face' multiple times in elementary. Jean refused to believe anyone else thought that, because Eren talked a lot of shit mainly to just fuck with him. When girls looked at him, he knew. He was proud.

Marco would never get on his level, right? Even though he was like he was. Well-liked. Mannered.

He just didn't have the _guts._

\---

Jean was brushing water from his undercut, light hair, when he finally made it in to the dorms. He considered picking up his coat so he could at least throw on a hood, because a dripping face wasn't exactly appealing to him.

He shoved his key in to the door of his dorm room, and pulled it open. The air coming from the room felt a bit thicker than the one in the hallway, but Jean didn't really give a shit. A dorm room's a dorm room.

The first thing he did was grab his coat from the hanger, which was directly next to the doorway, which was directly next to the kitchen. The slight drumming sound of water could be heard on the building's roof, but the rain seemed to be calming down, at least a bit. Jean walked behind the counter and gave the fridge a tug, cool air gusting on his face as he reached for a drink. The first can that hit his hand was mineral water, which was fine.

The can whined with a 'pssht'-sound when Jean clicked it open and took a sip, feeling the cold drink fizzing inside his mouth. It seemed that his roommate - surprise, surprise - Bertholdt, wasn't here. Which was totally predictable, because class had ended just a moment ago, and it was more than possible that he had something else to do right after. Jean hadn't exactly memorized his schedule, pretty much all he knew was that he had double class of maths on Monday. And he knew that just because that was the Bertholdt's number one thing to complain about on mornings.

When Jean was about halfway through his can, he heard footsteps outside the dorm room. A key was rattling in the keyhole as someone was about to come in to the dorm room, and the lean guy began to think he had assumed wrong, thinking Bert probably wasn't busy after all.

A familiar sigh emerged from the doorway, and he saw the male who was slightly taller than him, also possessing a darker hair walk in. Bertholdt seemed tired as fuck, his clothes a bit damp, and Jean looked at him with subtle sympathy.

Bertholdt was one of the people Jean had known the longest when it came to his life. On the same day they all got on first grade, and Eren and Reiner were assigned on same class as Jean, Bertholdt was also there. He was Reiner's best friend from the kindergarten and at first seemed reluctant to befriend Jean, but with Reiner playing a matchmaker they soon started to get along. Jean had a lot of dumb memories from trying to sneak in to their neighbor's house with him and attempting to skateboard on the yard of their old school, which usually meant Bert tripping over everything and Jean laughing his ass off. Bert used to play in a junior football league back in elementary, but when they got a new coach and Bertholdt thought he was a piece of shit, he left the team. And from that day on, he was spending most of his time with Reiner. Jean would usually join in, especially after Eren started being a pussy and he didn't really wanna talk with him anymore. Nowadays he and Bertholdt were roommates, as well as workmates at a local hotel, and of course, the bestest pals.

''Oh, you're here,'' Bert said quickly, stripping off from his coat, a bit breathless. Jean laid the now empty can on the counter, giving Bert a pat on the shoulder.

''What's up, man?''

''Nothing too peachy,'' the male with darker hair stated. ''Maths is giving me cancer, might talk to the student counselor about it. Take some easier courses or something like that. Have you seen Reiner?''

''Was on the first floor on the main building, physics. Probably not dropping by'', Jean said leaning against the wall behind him.

Bertholdt didn't anwser him, just nodded, and started to fiddle with his shoes. Jean's eyes followed him, as Berholdt then licked his lips, looking somewhat nervous. He then looked back at Jean, then back at his shoes, and spoke again.

''Hey, uhh, can you take my work shift next Tuesday? I kind of have to go cover yours tomorrow, something came up.''

''Yeah,'' Jean said simply, then getting a feeling something wasn't clicking in here. He could pretty much feel Bertholdt keeping a secret from him, which was weird, because what was there to hide when it came to Jean?

''What's the deal?''

''New employee, I need to show him around,'' Bertholdt assured, but he didn't look at Jean. The said guy's eyebrows knitting together, he didn't answser to the sentence that could or could've not been a lie, but Bert still was *obviously* leaving some key things unsaid, and he seemed to sense this. Bertholdt looked away, then at Jean, and scratched his neck.

''Okay, look. We were needing a helping hand for the busy hours, and we hired some new people in. One of them was Marco.''

There was a sinking feeling inside Jean's gut, and it definitely, definitely did not feel good. Jean wasn't sure what kind of face he was wearing right now, but Bertholdt seemed intimidated.

If this day had not already been bad to begin with, Jean got yet again in conctact with news that he'd rather shove up his ass than believe them. There was a person he didn't like in this world, and he was Marco, and out of all places, _he decided to send an application to the exact same fucking business as he was working almost overtime in._

''Oh my fucking god. No.''

''Sorry.''

''Dude, no. That'll get me fired. Fired, because I'll kick his ass.''

''You- okay, you need to stop.''

Bertholdt was looking a bit stern, his hand swiping through his hair, eyes meeting with Jean's, who was slowly filling up with fury. Bert was like a wall of bricks, wall of *grey* bricks, and he spoke in voice, saying things he probably didn't want to say.

''Me and Reiner have been thinking about this, and we have come in to a conclusion. Marco's fine. He has never been anything but fine. Give the poor guy a break. Or if not that, at least give him a chance to stay out of your way. It'll get _me_ in to a bad light too, alongside you, just because you just can't get over some old shit he hasn't even done.''

''Oh, nice. Is this betrayal I smell?'', Jean spat.

''More like, is it your own bullshit you smell? Honestly, calm down.''

Jean glared at him.

As if this day could just not get any worse. Now, there were more moments of this kind coming up in the near future. And it was making his blood flow way too hard.

***

After all of his classes for the day had ended, Marco picked up his messenger bag and pushed his chair neatly next to his desk. Biology wasn't really tiring, but today's class in particular had been mentally exhausting. In the name of science, of course, Professor Zacharius had brought in a box full of frogs, which were all cut open in the following hour. Sasha, Marco's friend, had both laughed and complained at Marco's pale face, and because he had been unable to pierce the frog's skin with a scalpel neatly because he was so mortified, Sasha had done it instead. 

The clouds had cleared up and were slowly receding to the horizon, revealing the red, setting sun from behind them. The campus was damp and full of puddles, but at least it wasn't pouring anymore. 

Marco said good night to Sasha, and left the classroom with his bag weighing on his shoulder. It had been a long day, so carrying the bag wasn't exactly comfortable, considering it was filled up with books. Instead of pondering about buying a backpack instead, Marco decided he'd just head in to this dorm and get some rest.

He had not seen Jean all day. Ever since they got in college, this kind of days had become more and more common. He did feel better now that he wasn't really doing much to him anymore, because usually seeing him in a hallway made him feel uneasy, like a prey animal. As if he was watching a predator from afar, and then having two choices to choose from; stay put, frozen in fear, or let your instincts take over and run away.

Marco didn't really know what was he supposed to think about Jean. His life had been all fine and nice one moment, and then suddenly, Jean was there. Hating him with all his might. Ever since the day they met, Marco had been thinking of a reason why did he dislike him so much. He didn't remember doing anything to him. He didn't remember doing anything to anyone. When he was little, he even tried to get in to terms with Jean by making friends with his best buddy, Eren. Which ended up with Eren liking him more than Jean. And then later Jean hating him more than ever.

On those years, all Marco had wished was just for the guy to leave him alone. He had never told his parents or a teacher about Jean, because he always thought the fault must be his. Or maybe Jean had just had some things troubling himself, which made him vent his anger on Marco. Family drama, maybe? 

But he wasn't that kind of a person who would call for help. He was way too proud. Marco could see it from him when he walked in the hallways. If he needed someone to listen to him, he should ask for it, then. 

Before he knew it, Marco was at the dorms. He climbed the stairs to the second floor, where his and his roommate lived. One, two, three, four, five rooms. He stopped at the next one, tried the door, and noticed it wasn't locked. He got inside.

It was funny when Marco was assigned in to the same dorm room with a guy named Connie, and then later in to the same class with Sasha, only to hear afterwards that they were best friends. Marco had not known either of them, they were coming from a smaller village which resided near Shiganshina, that apparently didn't have a college of their own. It was tough luck to get a same dorm room with a stranger, but Marco was happy that Connie had turned out cool. Sasha was great as well. Marco's mother had always prioritized manners, and she really had not been lying when saying that being positive attracts people. In some cases, at least. 

''Yo'', Connie's voice greeted from inside, and Marco spotted his roommate, with a cup of coffee and a book, seemingly homework, in front of him. Marco smiled and said back a hello, took off his shoes and left them by the door, as well as his coat. He didn't take his bag just yet, instead he walked to the tap and filled his coffee cup from the morning with water.

''Just so you know, I kinda overheard some conversation between the employers today. Pretty sure we managed to get you a job at the Sina Hotel,'' Connie said, slightly grinning, looking back at Marco who was had a small smile playing on his lips.

''Really? That's great!'', the tanner guy huffed. He had been working in a convenience store before, but for some reason it was shut down after he had worked there for about half a year, and from that day on Marco had been on the hunt for something else. He wasn't too rich, since he was a student, and he had noticed he definitely didn't have enough money if he wanted to keep himself fed AND visit his family when he could. Connie had been trying to help him ever since they became friends, which Marco thought was nice, and now they had succeeded.

Working in a hotel doesn't sound too bad, Marco really wasn't looking for a job that would drain him completely, when he still had his studies to take care of. Just something to cover up his expenses.

''One downside though,'' Connie said, with a voice tad bit lower. ''The Bertholdt guy, who's helping you for the first days, won't be working on the same shifts as you after all.''

''Oh,'' Marco stated simply. He lowered the cup from his lips, still looking at Connie, who didn't look quite as merry as he had looked just a second ago. Something wasn't right. ''Who then?'', Marco asked.

''Take a wild guess, buddy.''


End file.
